Previously, Snapper had only been used on buses. Cash payments were taken on trains or paper tickets could be purchased ahead of a trip.
Greater Wellington Regional Council chairman Daran Ponter hasn’t gone as far as calling the system embarrassing but has described it as “quaint”.
“It’s certainly a Victorian system of payment and quite literally this system was around in Wellington on our tram network when Queen Victoria was still alive.”
While the new electronic ticketing system is a step forward, Free Fares Campaign spokeswoman Hana Pilkinton-Ching said it didn’t go far enough.
“It’s a missed opportunity to make public transport more affordable for people, which we need now more than ever in a cost of living crisis.”
Auckland has an integrated ticketing system, meaning travel is based on how many zones passengers travel through rather than how many trips they take.
HOP card users can transfer between buses, trains, and ferries and pay just one fare for the entire journey.
Metlink general manager Samantha Gain said Snapper on rail was always intended as an interim solution prior to the introduction of the National Ticketing Solution.
“People with a monthly rail pass loaded to their Snapper will continue to get a free connection from bus to train where their journey commences with a bus trip to the station in zones 4-14″, she said.
“People travelling without a monthly pass on their Snapper will be charged separately for bus and train trips.”
The National Ticketing Solution will create one single payment system when travelling on buses, trains and ferries nationwide.
Last month the Government announced this nationally consistent payment system for public transport fares will soon be rolled out around the country, starting in Canterbury in 2024.
Transport Minister Michael Wood said a contract has been signed with supplier Cubic.
“Customers will be able to choose what payment method works best for them.
“They will be able to pay for public transport using contactless debit or credit cards, as well as digital payment methods like Apple Pay or Google Pay, while still offering the option of using a prepaid transit card.”
Ponter said an integrated system on Snapper would be “nice to have”, but the council’s eye was now firmly on the national system.
Regional councillor Thomas Nash said the Snapper solution meant train users would no longer have to “fumble around” for a paper ticket and solved the problem of convenience.
But he acknowledged the lack of integration was also unfair.
“I would certainly prefer that we could have an integration between trains and buses on your Snapper card so you don’t get charged twice for trips within the same zone, that seems completely reasonable and anyone who is dissatisfied with that is justified.”
Snapper chief executive Miki Szikszai said the company supported integrated fares.
“We are standing by to support Metlink should they decide to extend the integrated fares policy to the rail network in due course.”
